Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Variability of Northern Hemisphere Spring Snowmelt Dates Using the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder Snow Cover During 1982–2004

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Advances in Earth Observation of Global Change

Abstract

A new daily 5 km resolution Northern Hemisphere (NH) snow cover product derived from AVHRR Polar Pathfinder data (APP), available from 1982 to 2004, has enabled the investigation of the variability of the spring snowmelt dates at continental and hemispheric scales in association with variability of circumpolar climate parameters. Continentally averaged and latitude band averaged snowmelt date time series were analyzed together with melting season temperatures, preceding winter precipitation and atmospheric circulations. Snowmelt dates over northern Eurasia and North America did not show a statistically significant trend but rather a strong interannual variability related to anomalously large-scale atmospheric circulations. The average North American snowmelt date was observed to be later than that of northern Eurasia except the year of 1998. Snowmelt dates co-varied on interannual timescales between North America and the northern Eurasia before 1998. After 1998, snowmelt dates between the two continents are poorly related. The change in regime may be associated with the interdecadal coupling in climate variability between North pacific and North Atlantic. Finally, the less contribution in interannual variability of snow factor to snow albedo feedback was explained by analyzing seasonal snow-temperature sensitivity regions.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Angell JK (1999) Comparison of surface and tropospheric temperature trends estimated from a 63-station radiosonde network, 1958–1998. Geophys Res Lett 26: 2761–2764

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong R, Brodzik MJ (2002) Northern hemisphere EASE-grid weekly snow cover and sea ice extent version 2, National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, CO, CD-ROM

    Google Scholar 

  • Bamzai AS (2003) Relationship between Snow Cover Variability and Arctic Oscillation Index on a Hierarchy of Time Scales. Int J Climatol 23:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bojariu R, Gimeno L (2003) The role of snow cover fluctuations in multiannual nao persistence. Geophys Res Lett 30:L015651

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bell G, Janowiak J (1995). Atmospheric circulation associated with the Midwest floods of 1993. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 76:681–695

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biondi F, Gershunov A, Cayan DR (2001) North Pacific decadal climate variability since 1661. J Climate 14:5–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown RD (2000) Northern hemisphere snow cover variability and change, 1915–1997, J Climate 13:2339–2355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brown R, Derksen C, Wang L (2007) Assessment of spring snow cover duration variability over northern Canada from satellite datasets. Remote Sens Environ 111:367–381. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2006.09.035

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clark MP, Serreze MC, Robinson DA (1999) Atmospheric controls on Eurasian snow extent. Int J Climatol 19:27–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Déry SJ, Brown RD (2007) Recent Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent trends and implications for the snow-albedo feedback. Geophys Res Lett doi:10.1029/2007GL031474

    Google Scholar 

  • Dyer JL, Mote TL (2006) Spatial variability and trends in observed snow depth over North America. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2006GL027258

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes R, Zhao H (2008) Mapping daily snow cover extent over land surfaces using NOAA AVHRR imagery. In: Proceedings of the 5th EARSeL Workshop: Remote Sensing of Land Ice and Snow, Bern, 11–13 February

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandes R, Zhao H, Wang X et al (2009) Controls on Northern Hemisphere snow albedo feedback quantified using satellite earth observations. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2009GL040057

    Google Scholar 

  • Fowler C, Maslanik J, Haran T et al (2000) AVHRR Polar Pathfinder twice-daily 5 km EASE-grid composites V003. Boulder, Colorado USA, National Snow and Ice Data Center. Digital media

    Google Scholar 

  • Groisman PY, Karl TR, Knight RW (1994a) Observed impact of snow cover on heat balance and the rise of continental spring temperatures. Science 263:198–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Groisman PY, Karl TR, Knight RW et al (1994b) Changes of snow cover, temperature, and radiative heat balance over the Northern Hemisphere. J Climate 15:1633–1656

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall A, Qu X (2006) Using the current seasonal cycle to constrain snow albedo feedback in future climate change. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2005GL025127

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall A, Qu X, Neelin JD (2008) Improving predictions of summer climate change in the United States, Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2007GL032012

    Google Scholar 

  • Huffman GJ, Adler RF, Arkin P et al (1997) The global precipitation climatology project (GPCP) combined precipitation dataset. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 78:5–20

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hurrell JW (1995) Decadal trend in the North Atlantic Oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitation. Science 269:676–679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalnay E, Kanamitsu M, Kistler R et al (1996) The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bull Am Meteorol Soc 77:437–471

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li J, Wang J (2003) A modified zonal index and its physical sense. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2003GL017441

    Google Scholar 

  • Massom R (1991) Satellite remote sensing of polar regions: applications, limitations and data availability. Belhaven Press and Lewis Publishers, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Min SK, Zhang X, Zwiers F (2008) Human-induced Arctic Moistening. Science 320:518–520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ogi M, Tachibana Y, Yamazaki K (2003) Impact of the Wintertime North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) on the summertime atmospheric circulation. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2003GL017280

    Google Scholar 

  • Overland JE, Wang M (2005) The third Arctic climate pattern: 1930s and early 2000s. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2005GL024254

    Google Scholar 

  • Qu X, Hall A (2005) Surface contribution to planetary albedo variability in cryosphere regions. J Climate 18:5239–5252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qu X, Hall A (2007) What controls the strength of snow-albedo feedback? J Climate 20:3971–3981

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raisanen J (2008) Warmer climate: less or more snow? Climate Dynam. doi:10.1007/s00382-007-0289-y

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramsay B (1998) The interactive multisensor snow and ice mapping system. Hydrol Processes 12:1537–1546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson DA (2003) Recent variability of Northern Hemisphere snow cover. paper presented at Seventh Conference on Polar Meteorology, Hyannis, Massachusetts, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Saito K, Yasunari T, Cohen J (2004) Changes in the sub-decadal covariability between Northern Hemisphere snow cover and the general circulation of the atmosphere. Int J Climatol 24:33–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Santer BD, Wigley TML, Boyle JS et al (2000) Statistical significance of trends and trend differences in layer-average atmospheric temperature time series. J Geophys Res 105:7337–7356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schaefer K, Denning S, Lonard O (2004) The winter Arctic Oscillation and the timing of snowmelt in Europe. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2004GL021035

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson DW, Wallce JM (1998) The Arctic Oscillation signature in the wintertime geopotential height and temperature fields. Geophys Res Lett 25:1297–1300

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vicente-Serrano SM, Grippa M, Le Toan T et al (2007) Role of atmospheric circulation with respect to the interannual variability in the date of snow cover disappearance over northern latitudes between 1988 and 2003. J Geophys Res. doi:10.1029/2005JD006571

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang D, Wang C, Yang X et al (2006) Winter Northern Hemisphere surface air temperature variability associated with the Arctic Oscillation and North Atlantic Oscillation. Geophys Res Lett. doi:10.1029/2005GL022952

    Google Scholar 

  • Wang L, Sharp M, Brown R et al (2005) Evaluation of spring snow covered area depletion in the Canadian Arctic from NOAA snow charts. Remote Sens Environ 95:453–463

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Key JR (2003) Recent trend in Arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties from space. Science 299:1725–1728

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang X, Key JR (2005) Arctic surface, cloud, and radiation properties based on the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder dataset. Part II: recent trends. J Climate 18:2575–2593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye H, Cho H-R, Gustafson PE (1998) The changes in Russian Winter Snow accumulation during 1936–83 and its spatial patterns. J Climate 11:856–863

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao H, Moore GWK (2006) A seasonally lagged signal of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) in the North Pacific. Int J Climatol 26:957–970

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao H, Fernandes R (2009) Daily snow cover estimation from AVHRR Polar Pathfinder data over Northern Hemisphere land surfaces during 1982–2004. J Geophys Res. doi:10.1029/2008JD011272

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhao H, Moore GWK (2009) Temporal variability in the expression of the Arctic Oscillation in the North Pacific. J Climate 22:3110–3126

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dr. Y. Zhang, Dr. J. Li, and R. Brown for their pre-reviewing this manuscript. Thanks are also directed to Dr. X. Yang and another anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions. This research is supported by Climate Change Program, Natural Resources Canada.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adaptation and Impacts Research Section, Climate Research Division, Environment Canada, Toronto, Canada

    Hongxu Zhao

  2. Earth Sciences Sector, Canada Centre for Remote Sensing, Natural Resources Canada, Ottawa, Canada

    Richard Fernandes

Authors
  1. Hongxu Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard Fernandes
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hongxu Zhao .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. , Department of Geography, Universidad Alcala de Henares, Calle Colegios 2, Alcala de Henares, 22801, Spain

    Emilio Chuvieco

  2. , Department of Geography and Environmenta, University of Waterloo, University Avenue West 200, Waterloo, N2L 3G1, Canada

    Jonathan Li

  3. , Dept. Geography, Florida State University, Tallahassee, 32306, USA

    Xiaojun Yang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Zhao, H., Fernandes, R. (2010). Variability of Northern Hemisphere Spring Snowmelt Dates Using the AVHRR Polar Pathfinder Snow Cover During 1982–2004. In: Chuvieco, E., Li, J., Yang, X. (eds) Advances in Earth Observation of Global Change. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-9085-0_8

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation